Parkway School District St. Louis, MO.

1. Authentic Education May 2009 Presenters: Shelley Levy Judie Maranucci Frank Champine Parkway School DistrictSt. Louis, MO. Understanding by Design to enhance Professional Dialogue

2. Please put phone on vibrate

3. The Reality of Schooling at the Elementary Level Language Arts Here comes UbD Class Trips Social Studies Math Science Parent Conferences State Testing

4. KWL-UbD If the tree is UbD which kid are you? What would you like to know about Understanding by Design? What is your biggest concern about this curriculum model?

5. Overall Objective of the Workshop

6. Organization of Workshop Process – uncovering the 3 Stages of Understanding by Design Product – Development of a common unit and transfer to a actual unit. Progress – Our team’s observations of YOUR TEAMS’ WORK

7. How many buses does the army need to transport 1,128 soldiers if each bus holds 36 soldiers? Answer from 30% “31 Remainder 12!” Authentic Education 2007

8. 12 soldiers ?? Authentic Education 2007

9. A Caveat Don’t Confuse the Teaching with the Learning. Misunderstanding Alert Authentic Education 2007

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13. Foundations of Learning

14. Foundations of Learning Transfer Acquisition New Knowledge & Skills Making Meaning Authentic Education 2007

15. Three forms of learning • You acquire facts; you figure out what they mean; you transfer your prior learning to new challenges. • You acquire a skill; you figure out a good strategy; you apply all your skills to a new task, in context. Authentic Education 2007

16. Our workshop involves all 3 • You will acquire information about UbD • You will draw conclusions from examples, generalize from experiences, and make sense of data • You will transfer general understandings to specific cases and situations in which you work. Authentic Education 2007

17. Coverage vs. Uncoverage • Coverage - what teachers do with content - Research states that rapid coverage without connections to concepts or generalization is not retained nor transferred. • Uncoverage - Something students do through constructivist experiences. They own the learning and make meaning for themselves. This is retained and transferred.

18. It is the student’s attempts to learn that causes the learning; not the teacher’s covering the content or skills! UNCOVERAGE IS LEARNING Authentic Education 2007

19. What went wrong? • View this short video from the Harvard/M.I.T. study on the teaching of Math and Science. • Listen to the “talking heads” from various universities. • Jot down 3 things that resonate with you that are said in the learning analysis. • DIALOGUE with your table mates and then share with the entire group.

20. Continue. . . • Dialogue – Share your thoughts and explore the possible application to your own teaching experience. What might be going wrong in your classroom based on the awareness gained in this video? • Collaborate – List at least three things you might do to begin to make changes in your curriculum, assessments, and instruction that might increase the learning potential of your students • Teach – What teaching strategies might you add to this teachers “tool box” that might increase the understanding of this particular student and his classmates?

21. Westward Movement and Pioneer Life • Third Grade Unit on the Westward Movement • Interdisciplinary • Assessments: • Chapter Reading and questions • Sarah Plain and Tall – vocab. • Memory Box Show and Tell • Completion of 7 learning stations • Reflection paper on the unit. • “Life on the Prairie” – Pioneer Day Activities • Churn Butter • Play 19th century games • Send letter using sealing wax • Play “Dress the Pioneer”-computer Simulation • Make a corn husk doll • Quilting • Tin Punching • Full day with Parent Visitation

22. Analysis of the Unit • THINK – What are the strengths and weaknesses of this unit. Use Page 6 in W.B. • DIALOGUE with table – develop insights • Apply UbD thinking to the unit – see p. 7. Dialogue with table about what is revealed. • COLLABORATE with table – What might you do to improve this unit? • DIALOGUE – REVIEW PP. 8&9 – What happened when UbD is applied to C&I&A?

23. Conclusion – What is UbD? • View video clip – “Using UbD” • DIALOGUE: • What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the Backward Design model? • Based on the examples provided in the video, what are implications of implementing this design model in your teaching?

24. KNOWING vs UNDERSTANDING • Divide the group into two large groups? • Group 1 – Knowing • Group 2 – Understanding • Brainstorm as many synonyms for the word of your group as you possibly can. Please follow the rules for Brainstorming. • You have 4 minutes to complete your Brainstorm • Dialogue: What are the implications for your curriculum, assessments and instruction if you want your students to understand what they are taught? • What does teaching for understanding look like? • Video clip of Kindergarten Teacher: “Using UbD” teaching strategies – ASCD Using UbD. • Dialogue: How are her teaching strategies reflective of helping students better understand what is taught?

25. What is Backward Design? Page. 5 Create your DESIRED RESULTS Establish EVIDENCE of Understanding Then, and only then Develop INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

26. BACK WARD DESIGNMETHAPHOR STAGE 1 DESIRED RESULT Architect Designs The HOUSE Takes into consideration Customer’s desires Building Codes Possible Problems

27. Metaphor continued… Stage 2 Does the design meet code? Does it meet the standard? Will it be quality work? Are there backup systems in place just in case? Building Inspector Tests and assesses the design

28. Metaphor continued… Carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. Follow the design and apply their crafts. Stage 3

29. Moral of the Story If the Curriculum is not well designed, Assessedwell and Taught for Understanding the likelihood that kids will get it and transfer it is slim. THIS INSTEAD OF THIS When the construction crew does not teach for understanding the outcome is….

30. DEEPER LOOK AT BACKWARD DESIGN • Turn to PP. 12 – 18 in W. B. • Take some time to read, discuss and discern an hypothesis on the logic and flow of using Backward Design. • Dialogue: How does designing curriculum in this manner increase the likelihood of improving student learning? • We will sit with you from time to time to share your collaborate on this questions. (10 minutes).

31. Using the Template • What are BIG IDEAS? Where do they come from and How are they created? • Turn to pp 71-75 • Take time to look over the pages and pay specific attention to p. 74 to see how BIG IDEAS shape a unit like the Western Movement.

32. Where are Big Ideas found? • Concepts • Themes • Issues or Debates • Problems or Challenges • Theories • Processes • Paradoxes • Assumptions or Perspectives

33. Meaning Making – The Lunch Date Watch the video “The Lunch Date” What are the BIG IDEAS found in this video? Let us use this video as if it were the hook for a unit of study. How would this unit be designed?

34. BIG IDEAS • Take a few minutes and Dialogue about what you all actually saw. • Return to page 71, review the meanings behind Big Ideas and their categories • COLLABORATION - Go to page75 and develop as many Big Ideas about the Lunch Date as your table can.

35. EXPAND YOUR THINKING • Suppose you were using this video to kick off (anticipatory set) a unit in Math or Science. What Big Ideas in those disciplines might be FOUND IN THIS VIDEO that might be perfect BIG IDEAS in a unit of study in either of the disciplines?

36. What does it look like? Big Ideas Concepts UNCOVERAGE Facts Facts Facts FACTS Facts Facts Retained for the test Facts Facts Facts Facts Retention and Transfer COVERAGE

37. TRANSFER TO YOUR TEACHING • LET’S MOVE FROM THE LUNCH DATE TO A UNIT YOU WILL TEACH NEXT YEAR. • Think of the unit, any unit, write down the TOPIC • Write down as many BIG IDEAS for that unit as you can think of. Collaborate with your table mates.

38. UbD in the Primary Grades

39. No big ideas for little kids??? Not so… • “Never talk to strangers..but I am LOST!” • “Do it myself” vs. “ask for help” • “meaningful squiggles” vs. nonsense squiggles on the page • “What if…?”

40. Whenever there is… • A burning question • A difficult decision • A generalization • An intelligent adjustment ...There is a big idea

41. Key misunderstanding at work: “first, learn ALL the basic ‘stuff’” • Not so! • If this were true… • Children would never learn to speak their native language without teaching the basics first • No 1st graders would be able to play in soccer games or use their computers and cell phones effectively • No child would tell good stories until they had mastered English syntax, grammar, rhetoric

42. Sequence: Whole/part/whole • Learning complex tasks requires a constant and meaningful back and forth between - • part/whole, • skill/performance • learn some/apply what you know

43. In other words: • You have to learn to THINK while you also learn the basics • What does this somewhat unclear situation demand of me? • Learning to judge the situation - what should I do HERE? • How should I choose?

44. Gradual Release of Responsibility in literacy • I do, you watch • I do, you help • You do, I help • You do, I watch • This is a general schema for the development of transfer ability at any age, in any subject

45. GENERALIZATIONS Broad statements that serve as principles expressing the relationship of two or more concepts.

46. “The Lunch Date” Consider what you want the students to UNDERSTAND about this film and its Big Ideas. What will be the UNDERSTANDINGS you want to ENDURE and TRANSFER to other subjects and into the students’ lives?

47. Let’s attack the development of understandings • Look in your book at the 3 Circle Inventory (p.78)- What is important? • Let’s look at what an understanding is and how it is constructed.(PP.108-110) • What are the common characteristics of an understanding?

48. “The Lunch Date”- Understandings • Turn to page 107 in your book. • Use this concept attainment strategy to help you UNCOVER the meaning of and construction of ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS. • Write two understandings for the ‘Lunch Date’

49. Enduring Understandings • Design Standards for Understandings p.115 • Framing Understandings p.116 • Goals or topics can shape Understandings p.111-113 • Critical Skills as Understandings PP 75-76 • 2 Types of Understandings P.114 • Now that you have understandings for ‘The Lunch Date,’ TRANSFER your understanding to your teaching unit.

50. The essential questions have no answers. You are my question, and I am yours… and then there is dialogue. Questions unite people, answers divide them. So why have answers when you can live without them?